In a world which can feel increasingly volatile and uncertain, join Holly and Rachel from ThoughtBox as we explore some of the inconvenient truths, possibilities and opportunities of our rapidly changing world.
Each episode we’ll be diving deep into the big, tricky issues of our time, exploring what it means to be ‘inconvenient’ in our work to transform lives, communities and mindsets towards a healthier future for people and planet.
To find out more about the work we do at ThoughtBox Education, visit www.thoughtboxeducation.com.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In a world which can feel increasingly volatile and uncertain, join Holly and Rachel from ThoughtBox as we explore some of the inconvenient truths, possibilities and opportunities of our rapidly changing world.
Each episode we’ll be diving deep into the big, tricky issues of our time, exploring what it means to be ‘inconvenient’ in our work to transform lives, communities and mindsets towards a healthier future for people and planet.
To find out more about the work we do at ThoughtBox Education, visit www.thoughtboxeducation.com.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week is half term for UK schools and we've taken time away from the 'day to day' work at ThoughtBox for a reading week - a week to really dive deep into some of the ideas that we're both currently exploring. In this episode we share some of the insights, explorations, wonderings and reflections from what we're currently learning about.
In this episode we reference a large number of texts and ideas we've been exploring over the past months:
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This week on the podcast Holly is joined by guest inconvenient woman Sandy Glanfield, Immersive Experience Curator at Reboot the Future, to discuss the theme of naïvety.
In this episode we explore questions around metrics of success, and how naivety plays an important role in bringing creativity, openness, relationship and curiosity to challenges we face. From its etymological roots of belonging to nature and innateness, to its modern association with foolishness - join us as we weave through questions around fear of failure, elderhood, reframing biases and celebrating our own unique ‘genius’.
During this episode, we mention:
Sending lots of love and a big hug to Rachel who is currently off with the flu - hopefully she'll be back with us next week!
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Having a 'gut feeling' about something is perhaps a familiar sensation to many, but what does this actually mean? When we 'trust our gut' what is it that we're listening to? And how are intuition and gut feeling connected?
In this episode we dive deep into the 'wider senses' of the human body and think about what sort of additional intelligence we can be drawing on in our daily lives. Gut instinct is a primal element in all of us, but can become quite 'rusty' or dormant when not used - just like any other sense. What is energising is how there are many things we can do to re-awaken our sense of being intuitive and start to welcome in a wider form of intelligence. We look at many elements of both why it might be dormant in many of us, what we can do to re-liven our senses and what exactly might be happening when we tap into a deeper form of consciousness.
In this episode we reference the following:
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A painful truth in our current cultures is how much we are all struggling with our mental and emotional wellbeing. This is especially true in young people who are facing an increasing amount of overwhelm in their lives in this VUCA* world (*volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous). And yet the ways of suffering and the ways of wellbeing are actually two sides of the same coin...
Holly and Rachel are just back from Europe's largest trauma, mental health and wellbeing conference hosted at Oxford University, under the title 'Healing our relational world'. Bringing together over 3000 educators, therapists, mental health practitioners and healers with world-renowned trauma and emotional health experts, the conference was an extraordinarily rich and deep insight and exploration of how to heal our connection with ourselves, each other and the wider world.
In this episode we dive deeply into some of the 'brokenness' of our world (our inner and outer worlds) bringing in our own decade of research along with learnings from the conference. We look at some of the patterns in human behaviours that connect all of these elements of brokenness to better understand how to notice them and how to heal. We explore the impact of early attachment on shaping our relationships and the profound ways of healing in ourselves, our communities and with the planet. We touch on how the ways to respond to the symptoms and root causes of disconnection are the same and explore the foundational routes to healing.
In this episode we reference the following:
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This week, Holly and Rachel are 'on-tour' for the podcast, which was recorded live from underneath a fig tree in a beautiful quad at Exeter College in Oxford. The (slightly shorter this week) recording took place one lunchtime mid-way through Europe's largest trauma, mental health and wellbeing conference hosted at Oxford University, under the title 'Healing our relational world'. Bringing together over 3000 educators, therapists, mental health practitioners and healers with world-renowned trauma and emotional health experts, the conference was an extraordinarily rich and deep insight and exploration of how to heal our connection with ourselves, each other and the wider world.
In this short episode we touch on some of the live inquiries that we're both engaged with, think about some of the provocations and illuminations that are being shared about emotional health and wellbeing and dig into some of the tricky issues we're grappling with. This podcast serves as an introduction to some of the bigger inquiries we'll be diving into next week when back home.
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In many societies across the world, we find a dominant habit of record keeping as part of the daily focus. Paperwork, recording, data-capture, spreadsheets, documentation and report-writing have become a staple of many organisations across the world; whilst our education systems and business models are firmly structured around ‘capturing data’ - oftentimes valuing this data above all else.
We can see this same pattern playing out in our social lives, with a fixation on capturing and sharing our life experiences via smartphones and through social media often infiltrating our enjoyment and engagement of simply being in the moment. But what happens when the capturing of life becomes more important than the living of it?
In this week’s episode of Two Inconvenient Women, Holly Everett and I explore the different ways that our cultures are encouraging an shift away from ‘living’ and experiencing life towards a fixation on reporting on it. We explore questions such as ‘When did the record of what we’re doing become more important than what we’re doing?’ ‘What is it that we’re trying to do with our obsession with capturing and recording?’ ‘Are we starting to rely – even trust – data more than our own lived experience?’
In this episode we reference the following:
· Photography Life – When the photographer doesn’t shoot (article)
· Engaging Iain McGilchrist: Ascetical practice, brain lateralization, and philosophy of mind (article)
· How do you know? Psychology Today (article)
· Bad Data - Peter Schryvers (book)
· The Master and his Emissary – Ian McGilchrist (book)
· RSA animation: The Divided Brain (video)
· Alan Watts – Be Here Now (articles & podcast series)
· Your Three brains – Centre for Health & Wellbeing (article)
· Ofsted – Office for Standards in Education, UK (website)
· The Blanchard bone (website)
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“There's laundry to do and a genocide to stop…”
This first line of a short poem by Vinay Krishan hits hard, not least because it captures so powerfully the complex and confusing state we are finding ourselves in. How to we navigate the day to day process of living in the midst of so many overwhelming crisis all around us? How can we make sense of actions and unfoldings that literally cannot make sense? How do we stay sane in a world that feels like it’s falling apart?
In this week’s episode we explore the notion of cognitive dissonance and how to navigate the endless contradictions, hypocrisies and complexities of our current world. We explore what it means to ‘live through collapse’, why so many of our systems are falling apart; how we can sustain our own sense of groundedness and vitality and what it means to practice active hope and turn towards the light.
In this episode we reference the following:
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This time of year often beckons us to go "back to work". For some it's the beginning of a new academic year. For others it's a return to work after an extended holiday or summer break. For others it's the time to begin a new cycle. But do we really want to be 'going back' and do we really want to be 'working' for a living?
In this week's podcast we inquire about the nature of work, and think about why so many of our lives have become centred around work - in particular 'going to work' - rather than about nurturing livelihood. We explore some of the significant shifts in our human evolution that led to this way of living; think about what it means to match purpose and passion with contributing to the larger whole; explore some of the limitations of life's focus being about contributing to the market economy and question the meaning of success.
In this episode we reference the following:
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What is national pride all about and where does it stem from? Following a recent surge in the flying of the Union flag and St George's flag in parts of England this episode dives deeply into the meaning of national pride, the complexities and emotions it stirs up and the painful histories involved in the creation of nation states. From exploring a brief potted history of countries and colonialism to diving into some of the inherent human behaviours that stem from a need to belong, this episode is a chance to explore some of the behaviours, controversies and complexities that accompany flags and how we can move through some of these current challenges with a deeper sense of connection.
In this episode we mention the following:
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A new season is upon many of us at this time of year. Summer shifting into Autumn, the beginning of a new school year, a new work cycle. Maybe just returning to work after a rest. In all of the excitement of 'beginning again' there often comes also a slight pause within us all, asking us "Am I wanting to keep doing this? Is this allowing me to be all I want to be?"
This week, Rachel shares a poem from John O'Donohue called 'For a New Beginning' inviting us to listen to that quiet voice deep within us. We look forward to being back together for Season 4 of Two Inconvenient Women next week.
For a New Beginning
In out-of-the-way places of the heart,
Where your thoughts never think to wander,
This beginning has been quietly forming,
Waiting until you were ready to emerge.
For a long time it has watched your desire,
Feeling the emptiness growing inside you,
Noticing how you willed yourself on,
Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.
It watched you play with the seduction of safety
And the gray promises that sameness whispered,
Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent,
Wondered would you always live like this.
Then the delight, when your courage kindled,
And out you stepped onto new ground,
Your eyes young again with energy and dream,
A path of plenitude opening before you.
Though your destination is not yet clear
You can trust the promise of this opening;
Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning
That is at one with your life's desire.
Awaken your spirit to adventure;
Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;
Soon you will be home in a new rhythm,
For your soul senses the world that awaits you.
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The actual podcast to be shared (and shownotes typed) is just a short (2 min or so) recording explaining that this is a rest / we're taking a break but we're sharing some previous episodes where we dive into the nuance of environmental wellbeing and what it means to learn to care for our planet. Some of the highlights from our past three seasons are this mini-series are below:
If you'd like to join us for any of the Triple WellBeing opportunities mentioned in the podcast, you can find more information at:
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Our August break continues here at ThoughtBox, so this week we're sharing a short collection of previous episodes where we dive into the nuance of social wellbeing and what it means to learn to care fully for our communities, both local and global. Holly also shares a poem by Rosemary Wahtola Trommer called 'Belonging'.
Some of the highlights from our past three seasons are this mini-series are below:
If you'd like to join us for any of the Triple WellBeing opportunities mentioned in the podcast, you can find more information at:
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This August, we're taking a break here at ThoughtBox, so we're sharing a collection of previous episodes where we dive into the nuance of personal wellbeing and what it means to learn to care fully for ourselves. In this mini episode, Holly shares a poem on the theme of personal wellbeing, and introduces some of the highlights from our past three seasons, which make up this week's mini series:
If you'd like to join us for any of the Triple WellBeing opportunities mentioned in the podcast, you can find more information at:
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What happens when we allow ourselves to fall back in love with the world?
For many people it may feel obvious why we need to protect the earth and prevent run-away climate change and species extinction. Yet it may not be so clear as to how changing our relationship with the natural world is just as pressing – if not more so – than any environmental activism. When we take time to notice how incredible the natural world is, to understand and witness how the thriving of nature enables the thriving of ourselves, our appreciation of the importance of earth-care naturally grows. It’s hard to ‘stop and smell the roses’ in a culture that continues to celebrate ‘doing’ over ‘being’ and being in domination over nature, rather than being in relationship with nature. And yet when we start to see ourselves as part of nature, and allow ourselves to feel genuine connection with the more than human world, everything changes.
In this episode we talk about the inconvenience of earth-care and what it means to rewild ourselves, regenerate our thinking and reconnect with the whole of life.
We reference the following:
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Humans are a social species by design, with an inbuilt need to be with others, whilst qualities of care and kindness are innate in us all. Many of us are, however, living in a hyper-individualised world which encourages us to 'other' and separate from our communities, creating a culture of segregation and loneliness. In response, tides are turning across the world, as more and more people choose to look beyond the mainstream media stories and start instead to connect with our common humanity. We cannot be human alone - and it is our differences which make us so fascinating, and our diversity which allows our societies to flourish. And so what does it look like to live a life of care for others, and why is this in fact deeply good for us too?
In this week's episode, we explore the inconvenience of 'people-care', and the importance of nurturing caring and healthy communities in our lives - both near and far. We explore our connection to the behaviours of chimpanzees and bonobos; think about how to hold a deep legacy of colonialism within many cultures and reflect on some of the ways that acts of care for others can generate a deep sense of growth, healing and connection with ourselves.
In this conversation we reference the following:
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Self-care gets a bad wrap. It's often at the very bottom of our agenda, seen sometimes as self-indulgent - selfish even. And yet being aware of ourselves, being present in our emotions and actions, being kind and caring to our own needs is far from selfish. When we tend to our selves - the analogy of the 'oxygen mask first' we are able to better support others, as we are more resourced and resilient to do so. The growing appreciation for us to look after our personal wellbeing is growing - and is now becoming a conscious part of educational spaces - and yet too often it sits as an add-on or 'bonus' element of how we live and learn together. So how can we learn to embed habits and practices of self-care into our daily rhythms in a culture fixated on more, more, more?
In this week's episode, we dive into the depths of personal wellbeing and acts of self-care, exploring what it means to drink deeply from the 'well of our being' and how we can bring self-care to the top of the agenda.
In this episode we reference the following:
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For reasons known and written about by many, there's been a shift over time which has enabled 'learning' within educational contexts to be mainly focused on the head and often ignoring the heart or the hands. With a knowledge-saturated curriculum and a mainstream structure built around sitting down at desks and absorbing information, we're recognising the absence of a holistic focus for many of the learning contexts around the world. Which is ironic and unhealthy, for all of us as humans learn best when we are engaging all of our senses, all of our being as it were.
Head, Heart and Hands is a handily alliterative phrase coined to refer to a more holistic style of learning, and a way to enable a pedagogy of connection to our whole self. So why don't we bring more of this into our lives and learning spaces? In this week's episode, Holly and Rachel dive into the nourishing feeling of head, heart, hands learning, exploring where opportunities for this sort of connection to life are already happening and how we can embed a more holistic approach to learning across our communities.
We reference the following:
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In a world that glorifies busyness, rest can feel inconvenient—even rebellious. But what happens when we stop doing and simply allow ourselves to be? This episode explores rest as resistance against the belief that worth is tied to productivity. What happens when we slow down? Who benefits when we pause? And how might reclaiming rest help us build a healthier, more human way of living? This week's conversation is all about slowing down and redefining what it means to be a 'human being' rather than a 'human doing'.
In this episode, we reference the following:
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The Inconvenience of Joy
“I will never apologise for embracing joy and beauty - even when the world is falling apart – for joy and beauty are the fuel for my activism”.
These words by Karen Walrond are one of the inspirations for this week’s conversation on 'Joy', exploring how cultivating joy is both a way to resource ourselves and build the resilience needed to meet the challenges of our world. Joy is often seen as being the same thing as happiness, and yet these two emotions are profoundly different; one coming from external sources, one being cultivated from within. It is not a surprise that the practice of joy is embedded into all world religions as it can become a deeply spiritual practice – as well as a beautifully infectious state to find ourselves in.
In this week's conversation we dive into the meaning of joy, how it shows up in our lives; how activists across history have cultivated joy in their lives and work and what happens when we learn to practice joy as part of our daily rhythms.
In this episode we reference the following:
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The world is feeling a very broken place right now, with all that is erupting out of the Middle East, and with continued suffering across the world. When we do engage in conversations about what is happening, we often find ourselves sidetracked into the dance of moral outrage and the opportunity for a conversation is lost. And yet simple human connection sits at the heart of all that we're yearning for - each of us carrying the innate need to be seen, to be heard and to belong. So what happens when we offer to meet those needs in others, simply by noticing their shared humanity?
This week's conversation is raw, personal, honest and deeply human. With no apology. For we don't need to hide our humanity to be professional. In fact, that is perhaps the reason why so many of our institutions have become so inhumane and it also holds an invitation for how we can each start to re-humanise the landscapes we are part of.
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